“As an Iraq veteran, I was pleased to join other veterans at today’s roundtable meeting with Secretary Shulkin. I was honored to share the successes of my Office of Military Legal Assistance. The Office of Military Legal Assistance strives to bolster military readiness by providing service members with the knowledge that their legal affairs will be managed in their absence. Finding a means to support and give back to our local military heroes who have given so much in service to their state and country has long been a priority for me, and with the help of our pro bono partners, we are proud to have helped our military community handle over 2,000 pro bono matters thus far. The Nevada Veteran Affairs Office has been a great partner in this endeavor, and we look forward to a continued partnership with the Veteran Affairs Office as our program is replicated in other states across the country.”

The Office of Military Legal Assistance was officially launched in November 2015. The program is the nation’s first attorney general-led, public-private partnership offering our military communities access to pro bono civil legal services. In practice, the program pairs military service members in need of legal assistance with pro bono private legal counsel for civil matters including consumer fraud, military rights, immigration, landlord/tenant, predatory lending and creditor/debtor issues. The program also provides monthly workshops dedicated to drafting free wills and powers of attorney for Nevada’s veterans across the state. In May, 2016, the Department of Defense named the program a “Best Practice Program” and recommended that the program be duplicated in states throughout the country.

For more information on the Office of Military Legal Assistance, visit nvagomla.nv.gov.